Sorry - your response doesn't cut it. The ETSA and the J-1 infrastructure obviously can talk - how else would the border agent know to arrest you? If it can tal

Sorry - your response doesn't cut it. The ETSA and the J-1 infrastructure obviously can talk - how else would the border agent know to arrest you? If it can talk, then why doesn't it tell you that you're breaking the law, if it's so gosh-darn clear with 60 seconds of research? Remember - you're a local. Tourists are not. Potential tourists see these articles and factor them into their travel plans, usually by not going to the country in question. If it was Venezuela putting people in prison for not following an obscure visa-rule, I doubt you'd be justifying it so happily.